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A PRIMER ON THE BELIEFS OF THE IGLESIA NI KRISTO

+ORLANDO CARDINAL QUEVEDO, O.M.I.
25 March 2014
Archbishop of Cotabato
Chairman, Commission on the Doctrine of the Faith, CBCP

"The Iglesia ni Cristo will celebrate its 100th foundation anniversary on July 27, 2014.
As fellow citizens of our country we join the members of the INC in remembering
their history where we find virtue and commitment to God.

Anticipating the questions of the Catholic faithful that will arise on the occasion of
this anniversary regarding the religious beliefs of the Iglesia ni Cristo, the present
Primer was approved by the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP)
as a guide for catechesis."













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A PRIMER ON THE BELIEFS OF THE IGLESIA NI KRISTO




TABLE OF CONTENTS






Foreword ........................................................................................ 3

Part One:

The Basic Beliefs of the Iglesia ni Cristo ............................................................ 5

I. Jesus Christ and the Church He Founded ............................................ 4
II. The Unfaithfulness (apostasy) of the early Church ..................... 8
III. The Restoration of the Church by Felix Manalo ............................9
IV. The sources of the teachings of the Iglesia ni Cristo ..................... 10

Part Two:

The Catholic Faith ................................................................................ 11
I. The Teachings of the Catholic Church
on Revelation and the Holy Bible .........................................................11
II. The Teachings of the Catholic Church
on the Holy Trinity and Jesus Christ ......... ...15











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Foreword




The Iglesia ni Cristo will celebrate its 100th foundation anniversary on July 27, 2014.
As fellow citizens of our country we join the members of the INC in remembering
their history where we find virtue and commitment to God.

Anticipating the questions of the Catholic faithful that will arise on the occasion of his
anniversary regarding the reli gious beliefs of the Iglesia ni Cristo, the present Primer
was approved by the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) as a
guide for catechesis.


The respect we give to the religious beliefs of others should motivate us to get to
understand those beliefs deeply, as this is demanded by the requirements of sincere
dialogue. Differences in what we believe in do not make us distant from those
who hold those beliefs, because as J. Maritain put it, among ideas contradictions are
inevitable, but not among persons.

We cannot close our eyes to the fact that there are serious and deep differences
between the Christian Faith and the doctrines of the Iglesia ni Cristo. Thus, this
Primer presents in Part One what the Iglesia ni Cristo believes in; Part Two is on what
the Catholic Faith teaches on those same points.

Pope Francis, talking about Interreligious dialogue in Evangelii gaudium (no. 251)
explains: In this dialogue, ever friendly and sincere, attention must always be paid to
the essential bond between dialogue and proclamation, which leads the Church to
maintain and intensify her relationship with non-Christians (cf. Propositio 53). ()
True openness involves remaining steadfast in ones deepest convictions, clear and
joyful in ones own identity, while at the same time being open to understanding
those of the other party and knowing that dialogue can enrich each side (JOHN
PAUL II, Encyclical Letter Redemptoris Missio (7 December 1990), 56). What is not
helpful is a diplomatic openness which says yes to everything in order to avoid
problems, for this would be a way of deceiving others and denying them the good
which we have been given to share generously with others. Evangelization and
interreligious dialogue, far from being opposed, mutually support and nourish one
another (Cf. BENEDICT XVI, Address to the Roman Curia (21 December 2012);
VATICAN II, Decree on the Missionary Activity of the Church Ad Gentes, 9;
Catechism of the Catholic Church, 856.)
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We pray that the wish of the Lord Jesus Christ at the Last Supper (that they may all
be one, even as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee) become a reality in the hearts of
all Christians, so that the one Church founded by Him may become an agent of unity
for all mankind.

+ ORLANDO CARDINAL QUEVEDO, O.M.I.
25 March 2014
Archbishop of Cotabato
Chairman, Commission on the Doctrine of the Faith, CBCP




























PART ONE

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THE BASIC BELIEFS OF THE IGLESIA NI CRISTO*

I.

Jesus Christ and the Church He Founded

1. What does the Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) teach about God?

There is only one God. He alone is God (Ps. 86:10). For I am God, and there is no
other (Is. 45:21-22; Is. 46:9-10; Dt. 32:39, RSV). The INC interprets these as proofs
against the Trinity of Persons in one God.
God is unchangeable, immutable: For I the Lord do not change (Mal. 3:6, RSV). He
did not and will not, become man or anything. Therefore, Jesus Christ is not God that
became flesh. Christ is man, not God. And God is not man. For I am God, He
emphasized, and not man (Hos. 11-9).

2. What does the Iglesia ni Cristo teach about Jesus Christ?

Despite His uniqueness when compared to all other men, Christ remains man in His
state of being. Christ is never the true God.
He is a true man (But now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth
which I heard from God: Jn. 8:40). When Apostle Matthew gave his account of the
birth of Christ, he said that in the womb of Mary was a child (Mt 1:18), not a god.

Christ, since birth, was subjected to the experiences and circumstances of human life,
inherent in all men (sin, of course, excluded). The true God has no beginning nor is
He a son of man (Ps 90:2; Num 23:19). He is Spirit (Jn. 4:24); He does not grow
weary (Is 40:28), does not sleep (Ps 121:4). The true God is immortal (I Tim 1:17).

* The answers to the questions in this part are lifted from the INC publication This is
the Iglesia ni Cristo (The Church of Christ).

3. Is Jesus Christ the Savior?

Because of sin, man was separated from God thereby losing his right to serve and
deify (sic) God (Is. 59: 2). It was God Himself who provided the means by which man
could return to Him: the precious Blood of Jesus Christ which served as atonement for
mans sin (Eph. 2:13; Col. 1: 20-21).

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The members of the Church of Christ (i.e., the Iglesia ni Cristo) which our Lord Jesus
Christ purchased with His own Blood (Acts 20:28) are the only ones benefited by His
death. To them alone, the right to serve and deify (sic) God is restored.

Christ died on the Cross for His Church. And His death signifies the redemption only
of the members of His Church, and not of anybody else (Eph. 5:25).

4. Is membership in the Church of Christ (i.e., the Iglesia ni Cristo) necessary for
salvation?

Any man can enter Christ (I am the door...- Jn. 10:9) by becoming a member of
Christs Body which is the Church that He built, or the Church of Christ (Mt. 16:18; I
Cor. 12:27; Col. 1:18; Acts 20:28, Lamsa Version). So the Church is necessary.

But not just any Church; only the Church which is the Body of Christ wherein Gods
will is fulfilled that all men be gathered in Christ as members and consequently attain
salvation and eternal life. This is Gods plan of salvation.

5. In order to be saved, is it enough to have faith that Jesus Christ is the Savior?

It does not suffice therefore to accept Christ alone and disregard the Church to attain
salvation. The faith-alone-in-Christ- and never-mind the-Church concept is a false
doctrine and a dangerous one at that. Therefore, to reject the Church (i.e., the Iglesia
ni Cristo) is to reject our Lord Jesus Christ because to
reject the Body is to reject its Head.

Faith is made perfect if it is accompanied by works (James 2:22). A man may
wholeheartedly believe in God and in Christ but so long as he is outside the Church of
Christmeaning he has not complied with the command of Christ and therefore
his faith is without workshe remains condemned to the lake of
fire.

6. In short, is the Iglesia ni Cristo the only path to salvation?

Evidently, the place of reconciliation is the Church of Christ (i.e. Iglesia ni Cristo). To
be reconciled to God and be saved, one must become a member thereof. Unless he
becomes a part of the Church of Christ or Body of Christ he is not embraced by the
redemptive death of Christ; he is imperilled by the impend-
ing penalty for sinners (Jn. 8:24). He is, in short, doomed.

7. Why is the name Iglesia ni Cristo important for salvation?
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Our Lord Jesus Christ called the Church that He built, My Church (Mt. 16:18). Any
Church not built by Christ would not be called by Him My Church. The true Church
built by Christ is called by name. It is the mark set by Christ Himself to identify His
sheep (Jn. 10:3). Whats in a name? So far as the true Church is concerned, salvation
is in the name (Acts 4:10,12). To adhere to any religion not bearing the name of Christ
does not belong to Him.

The Apostles aptly called the one and only true Church that Christ built, Church of
Christ (Acts 20:28, Lamsa Version) or Iglesia ni Cristo, in Pilipino. This is the only
true Church, the one upon which the name of Our Lord Jesus Christ is called (Acts
15:17-18).

8. Who form part of the new chosen people of God?

Man cannot be saved by his own works, much less by his faith alone. Rather, God
elects the people on whom He shall bestow the gift of salvation. He sets them apart to
be godly before His sight and hears them when they call upon Him (Ps 4:3).

After the fall of Israel, a new and chosen generation was elected by God to a royal
priesthood, bestowed with the right to offer praises and homage to Him. They were
called to the Kingdom of His Sonthe Lord Jesus Christ (I Pt 3:9; Col 1:13).

These chosen people are the members of the Church of Christ (the Iglesia ni Cristo).
They, being in Christ, are Abrahams seed, and heirs according to the promise (Gal.
3:29).

9. Who will merit the resurrection?

To redeem the members of His Church (i.e., the parts of the Body of the one new man
He created) Christ, being their Head,died for them. He died on the Cross, was buried,
was resurrected by God on the third day, and after forty days He was gloriously taken
up into heaven. Those who will resurrect into life everlasting are those who died as
members of the Church of Christ, and since they are
Christs they will experience the first resurrection (Rev. 20:6) for the dead in Christ
shall rise first (I Tim 4:16). Then shall come to pass that which is written, I will
build my Church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it (Mt
16:18,RSV).



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II.

The Unfaithfulness (apostasy) of the early Church

1. What does the Iglesia ni Cristo say about the Church of the first century?

The Church established by Christ in Jerusalem in the first century did not continue to
exist. It was apostatized. But it does not mean that those who were responsible for the
apostasy established another Church; that same Church strayed away from the pristine
Christian faith.

2. In what way was the apostasy committed?

Apostle Paul foretold (sic) the Christians then that there will be a departure from the
faith because some will give heed to deceitful spirits or doctrines of demons (I Tim
4:1). Accordingto him, after his death, men will arise who will speak perverse things
to draw away the disciples of Christ after them (Acts 20:30). The perverse things
which they will speak are the doctrines of demons, two of which are Forbidding to
marry,
and commanding to abstain from meats (I Tim 4:3).

Another distinguishing mark of the apostates is the one described by Apostle Paul:
the man of sin ... showing himself that he is God (2 Thess. 2:3-4). Apostle Peter
called them false prophets who will bring in
destructive heresies denying the Master, the Lord Jesus Christ, by rejecting Him as
Head of the Church, as the stone foundation, and by rejecting His name (2 Pt 2:1; Acts
2:36; 4:10-12; Eph 2:20).

3. According to the Iglesia ni Cristo what is the name of the Church that committed
apostasy?

One does not need to go too far to learn that the CatholicChurch upholds and teaches
the two above-mentioned doctrines of demons. The Catholic Church denied the Lord
Christs Headship by putting Peter and the Popes in His stead. It denied the Lords
position as the stone foundation, again by putting Peter in His stead. It rejected His
name, Christ, by sporting such an unscriptural name as Roman Catholic Church.
And the Popes usurpation of the Fatherhood of God (God being the Father of Souls)
fits well to Apostle Pauls description of the man of sin. So now the Catholic Church
cannot evade the accusing finger of this biblical revelation. The Catholic Church is the
apostate Church. This also proves beyond doubt apostasy
was a fact.
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III.

The Restoration of the Church by Felix Manalo

1. What are the prophecies fulfilled in the person of Felix Manalo?

Felix Manalo was the messenger of God instrumental in the reestablishment of the
Church of Christ after it was apostatized.

(a) Isaiah 46:11 articulates one of the prophecies on the Last Messenger of God:
Calling a bird of prey from the east, the man of my counsel from a far country. I have
spoken and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed and I will do it (RSV). In this
prophecy, the bird is from the east and the man, who is also the bird, is from a far
country. So this bird of prey who is a man of Gods counsel or who does the counsel
or word of God (Ps 107:11) is from the Far East or the Philippines. (Note: In
INC doctrine, the Philippines is the Far East; it is not merely in the Far East.)

He is called bird of prey because the sons and daughters of God from the Far East or
the Philippines are being hindered by the north and the south (representing
Protestantism and Catholicism) and the messenger of God has to bring them out
of these two religions (Is. 43:6).

(b) Felix Manalo also fulfills the prophecy in Revelation 7:2-3: Then I saw another
angel rising where the sun rises, carrying the seal of the living God...

2. What prophecy was fulfilled regarding the Philippines?

The sheep of Christ with promise belong to three groups. The first and second
groupsthe Jews and the Gentileswere already called and already in the fold
during the time of Christ and the apostles. The third group was still far off and they
are not yet called then; they are yet to be called by God (Acts 2:39) to become one
flock or one Church of Christ (Acts 20:28, Lamsa Version). So when the Iglesia ni
Cristo appeared in the Philippines in 1914, a prophecy was fulfilled, a prophecy which
God Himself told: From the Far East will I bring your offspring (Is. 43:5, Moffatt
version).

These children of God from the Far East (Apostle Peter said they are the ones who are
afar off) belong to the third group of Christs sheep. They are called by the name
created by God for His glory: the name Christ. This name is called upon the children
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of God in the Far East. They are called Church of Christ because they are the one
flock (Church) of Christ (Is. 43:7; Acts 2:36; Phil. 2:9; Rom. 16:16).

3. What is the significance of the foundation date of the Iglesia ni Cristo?

They (the Filipinos) are the other sheep of Christ who will be called from the ends of
the earth. The ends of the earth signifies the time before the end of the world or the
second coming of Christ which is signalled manifestly by wars and rumors of wars
(Mt 24:6). This war occurred in 1914 and was better known as the First World War. It
was during that time that the children of God in the Far East or in the Philippines were
called. Indeed, at the outbreak of the war on July 27, 1914, the Iglesia ni Cristo was
concurrently officially registered in the Philippine government.

4. What is the summary of Felix Manalos life until he founded the Iglesia ni Cristo?

He was born on May 10, 1886 in Taguig, Rizal province. After the death of his
mother (Bonifacia Manalo) he decided to use her surname instead of his fathers
(Mariano Ysagun). With the introduction of Protestantism at the turn of the 20th
century, he first joined the Methodist Episcopal Church. He was
trained in the Methodist Theological Seminary and became an evangelist . In 1907 he
moved to the Presbyterians, and became a pastor after attending the Union
Theological Seminary. In 1910, he joined another group called Christian Mission
because he preferred their way of baptizing by immersion. The
following year he joined the Seventh-Day Adventists, eventually becoming a pastor.
But soon after, he left the group.

Unsatisfied with the various Christian groups, he set out to examine the different
teachings he was exposed to. In 1913 he isolated himself in his room for two days and
three nights, and compared all those teachings with what is found in the Bible. He
emerged from that isolation convinced that he had found the truth, and that he felt
obliged by God to proclaim it.

He died on April 12, 1963.








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IV.

The sources of the teachings of the Iglesia ni Cristo

1. How does the Iglesia ni Cristo consider the Holy Bible?

The Iglesia ni Cristo (Church of Christ) believes that the words of God are written in
the Bible; that when the Bible speaks, God Himself speaks. So, when the Bible is
silent, the Iglesia ni Cristo is silent, too, for it recognizes no other basis and authority
in serving God except the Bible.




PART TWO

THE CATHOLIC FAITH
I

The Teachings of the Catholic Church on Revelation and the Holy Bible

1. What does the Catholic Church say about the sources of divine Revelation?

Apostolic Tradition is the transmission of the message of Christ, brought about from
the very beginnings of Christianity by means of preaching, bearing witness,
institutions, worship, and inspired writings. The apostles transmitted all they received
from Christ and learned from the Holy Spirit to their successors, the bishops, and
through them to all generations until the end of the world.

Apostolic Tradition occurs in two ways: through the living transmission of the word
of God (also simply called Tradition) and through Sacred Scripture which is the same
proclamation of salvation in written form. (Compendium of the Catechism of the
Catholic Church, nos. 12 & 13).

2. What is the relationship between Tradition and the Holy Bible?

Tradition and Sacred Scripture are bound closely together and communicate one with
the other. Each of them makes present and fruitful in the Church the mystery of
Christ. They flow out of the same divine well-spring and together make up one sacred
deposit of faith from which the Church derives her certainty about revelation.
(Compendium of the CCC, no. 14).
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3. Why is it not correct to say that only the written word of God is the source and
basis of the Christian Faith?

Jesus Christ did not write books. His teachings were all given by preaching. When He
sent out the apostles to spread the Gospel, He did not ask them to write, but He
instructed them to preach. Not all of the apostles produced writings, but all of them
preached, convinced that the teachings of Christ would be preserved and spread
through the oral teaching authority they and their successors received from Him.

The first books of the New Testament (St. Pauls two Letters to the Thessalonians)
were written around AD 51-52, and the gospel according to St. Mark around AD 60.
Surely, it would not be logical to think that before these New Testament books were
written, everything that the early Christians believed was false and useless.

Furthermore, even with his abundant writings, St Paul reminds his disciple, Timothy:
Pass on to reliable people what you have heard from me through many witnesses so
that they in turn will be able to teach others (2 Tim 2: 2).

St John concluded his account of the events of Jesus Resurrection this way: There
were many other signs that Jesus worked in the sight of his disciples, but they are not
recorded in this book. These are recorded so that you may believe that Jesus is the
Christ, the son of God, and that believing this you may have life through his name
(Jn 20: 30).


4. What authority decided which writings were genuine and fruit of Gods inspiration,
and thus deserved to be counted as part of the New Testament?

The Teaching Authority (Magisterium) of the Church. It was in the Synod of Hippo
(North Africa) in AD 393that St. Augustine participated inthat the Canon of 27
New Testament books as we know it now was formally accepted. The Council
of Carthage (AD 400) did the same.

Scripture, Tradition, and the Magisterium are so closely united with each other that
one of them cannot stand without the others. Working together, each in its own way,
under the action of the one Holy Spirit, they all contribute effectively to the salvation
of souls. (Compendium of the CCC, no. 17).



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5. Why is it necessary to have the Magisteriums help when it comes to interpreting
the Holy Bible?

St. Peter wrote: At the same time, we must recognize that the interpretation of
scriptural prophecy is never a matter for the individual. For no prophecy ever came
from human initiative. When people spoke for God it was the Holy Spirit that
moved them (2 Pt. 1: 20-21).

For example, like all exclusivist doctrines, the INC appropriates as its own
Revelation 7: 3:8the sealed ones, the 144,000 members of the twelve tribes of
Israel, who are the only ones to receive salvation. In contrast, the Catholic teaching is
this: yes, every person has the obligation to seek the truth about God, and once
known, to embrace it; however, those who, through no fault of their own, do not
know the Gospel of Christ or His Church, but who nevertheless seek God with a
sincere heart, and moved by grace, try in their actions to do His will as they know it
through the dictates of theirconsciencethese too may achieve eternal salvation
(Vatican II, Lumen gentium, 16; CCC 846-848).

In the past centuries, every new prophet who claimed to be a messenger of God
and in order to strengthen his credibilitywould say the same thing: the Church
committed apostasy in the early centuries.
Thus, they consider themselves founders of a Restorationist church. If each new
prophet interprets the Holy Bible according to his own mind, then the cycle would be
endless, and the biggest loser would be God
Himself (non-believers would scorn the Bible even more).

6. What are the Lamsa and Moffat versions of the Bible that the Iglesia ni Cristo
frequently refers to?

a) George Lamsa (1892-1975), the author of The Holy Bible from Ancient Eastern
Manuscripts based his translation of the New Testament on Aramaic, not Greek.
Even Protestant Bible Scholars question Lamsas orthodoxy. Lamsas Bible
is accepted by the INC, Jehovahs Witnesses and Christadelphians.

Based on his other writings (he wrote 21 books), his beliefs on the Holy Trinity, on
Jesus Christ as a divine Person with a true divine nature and a true human nature are
not in accord with the Christian faith. He is considered a follower of
Nestorianism (declared erroneous in AD 431 in the Council of Ephesus). For him the
Holy Spirit is not a Divine Person but influence, effectiveness, hidden power.
The INC follows this teaching on the Holy Spirit.

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b) James Moffatt (1870-1944), A Scottish scholar, later on a professor of Church
History at the Union Theological Seminary, New York, he published his Bible
translation in 1926, known as the Moffatt, New Translation. In his desire to
make the Bible readable, he freely translated and paraphrased many passages, and
even changed the established order of the Chapters. Thus, Moffatt renders Isaiah 43:5,
that Felix Manalo used as source of the identity of Gods last messenger (Felix
Manalo) as: from the Far East will I bring your offspring. The Revised Standard
Version (RSV) says: I will bring your offspring from the east, and from the west I
will gather you.

7. What characterizes the INCs use of the Holy Bible?

While professing reverence towards the Bible, the INC interprets it to suit its
doctrines, no matter how arbitrarily it is done (the proof-text approach abused). It
selects a version of the Bible as long as the name Church of Christ comes out.
For instance: Acts 20:28 (for this, the Lamsa version is used; the majority of Bible
translations say Church of God) Be on your guard for yourselves and for the
flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you the guardians, to feed the Church of
God which he bought with the blood of his own Son (The New Jerusalem Bible
version).

8. What is problematic with the Iglesia ni Cristos claim that the Church of the first
century apostatized?

The Church has been faithful at all times to the Revelation given by the Lord Jesus
Christ: threatened by all sorts of erroneous teachings and open persecutions, the
Church did not compromise the Truth received. A reading of the early history of the
Church (for example, Ecclesiastical History of Eusebius of Caesarea, 4th C.) or the
accounts of the martyrdom of the Christians of the first three centuries would offer
enough evidence of this historical fact.

Moreover, if the Church did commit apostasy in the first centuries, then why does the
Iglesia ni Cristo use the Holy Bible that was ratified by the same Church in the 4th
century?


9. Is it wrong to call catholic the Church founded by the Lord Jesus Christ?

The Iglesia ni Cristos claim that the Catholic Church apostatized because it changed
its original name (Church of Christ) ignores that part of the Nicene-
Constantinopolitan Creed (AD 381): I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic
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Church. It is obvious in this sentence that the word catholic is an adjective (from
the Greek katholikos: universal), expressing an essential characteristic of the Church
founded by Jesus Christ. The use of the name did not begin in the 4th century: Where
there is Christ Jesus, there is the Catholic Church (St. Ignatius of Antioch, bishop
and martyr, a disciple of St John, apostle; died at the end of the 1st century).

II.

The Teachings of the Catholic Church on the Holy Trinity and Jesus Christ

1. What is the place of the mystery of the Trinity in the Catholic Faith?

The central mystery of Christian faith and life is the mystery of the Most Blessed
Trinity. Christians are baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the
Holy Spirit (Compendium of the CCC, no. 44). God has left some traces of his
Trinitarian being in creation and in the Old Testament but his inmost being as the
Holy Trinity is a mystery which is inaccessible to reason alone or even to Israels faith
before the Incarnation of the Son of God and the sending of the Holy Spirit. This
mystery was revealed by Jesus Christ and it is the source of all the other
mysteries (Ibid., no. 45).

2. How does the Church express her Trinitarian faith?

The Church expresses her Trinitarian faith by professing a belief in the oneness of
God in whom there are three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The three divine
Persons are only one God because each of them equally possesses the fullness of the
one and indivisible divine nature. They are really distinct from each other by reason of
the relations which place them in correspondence to each other. The Father generates
the Son; the Son is generated by the Father; the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father
and the Son (ibid., no. 48)

3. What sample verses of the New Testament attest to the truth that there are three
distinct Persons in one divine nature?

a) Before the Ascension, Jesus commanded the apostles: All authority in heaven and
on earth has been given to me. Go therefore, make disciples of all nations;
baptize them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit (Mt.
28: 18-19).

b) At the last supper, Jesus said: However, when the Spirit of truth comes, he will
lead you to the complete truth ... He will glorify me, since all he reveals to you will
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be taken from what is mine. Everything the Father has is mine; that is why I said: all
he reveals to you will be taken from what is mine (Jn. 16: 13-15). When the
Paraclete (i.e., the Consoler: the Holy Spirit) comes, whom I shall send to you from
the Father, the Spirit of Truth who issues from the Father, he will be my witness (Jn.
15:26).

c) St Pauls second Letter to the Corinthians ends with this prayer: The grace of the
Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the communication of the Holy Spirit be
with you all (2 Cor.13:13).

4. If the Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) teaches that in God there is no trinity of Persons, can
the baptism in the Iglesia rites be considered a Christian baptism?

The revelation about the Holy Trinity is at the heart and source of the entire Christian
Faith. The Creed that was formed as a result of the Ecumenical Councils of Nicea
(AD 325) and Constantinople (AD 381) stresses the divinity of the Second Person
(The Word) and of the Third Person (The Holy Spirit) of the Holy Trinity. When
the INC denies that there are three distinct Persons in one God it closes its mind to the
obvious statements of the Lord Jesus Christ about this mystery, as mentioned above.

Consequently, the baptism in the INC is not equivalent to a Christian baptism.

5. In what sense is Jesus Christ the Only Begotten Son of God?

Jesus is the Son of God in a unique and perfect way. At the time of his Baptism and
his Transfiguration, the voice of the Father designated Jesus as his beloved Son. In
presenting himself as the Son who knows the Father (Matthew 11:27), Jesus
affirmed his singular and eternal relationship with God his Father. He is the Only
Begotten Son of God (1 John 4:9), the second Person of the Blessed Trinity. He is
the central figure of apostolic preaching. The apostles saw his glory as of the
Only Begotten of the Father (John 1:14) (Compendium of the CCC, no. 83).

6. If Jesus is the Second Person of the Trinity who took on our human nature (and the
Word was made flesh), is he equal to God the Father?

Yes, Jesus Christ is true God and true man: He is not merely a holy man who was
divinized by God. He is co-eternal with God the Father and God the Hoy
Spirit. While the INC frequently says Our Lord Jesus Christ in its official
publications, it denies His divinity. But in the Greek Old Testament, Lord stands for
the divine name Yahweh. From the early beginnings of the Church the name
Lord (Kyrios, in Greek) has been used as an expression of faith in Jesus Christs
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divinity. So then, as you received Jesus as Lord, and Christ, now live your lives in
Him... (Col. 2:6); ... and every tongue should acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord, to
the glory of God the Father (Phil. 2:11). The name Lord Jesus is used in many verses
in chapter 1 of St. Peters second Letter. When Jesus our Lord cured the paralytic in
Capernaum He provoked the Pharisees anger when He told the paralytic My friend,
your sins are forgiven you. He was accused of blasphemy as they said: Who but
God alone can forgive sins?

Jesus replied: But to prove to you that the Son of man has authority on earth to
forgive sinsHe said to the paralyzed manI order you: get up, and pick up your
stretcher and go home (Cf. Lk. 5: 17-26). Even the name Son of man Jesus used
refer to Himself is a veiled reference to His divinity, since that title is from the vision
of Daniel about the universal and eternal kingship of the Messiah (Dn 7: 13-14).

7. What sample verses of the New Testament attest to Jesus equality with God the
Father?

a) Now, Father, glorify me with that glory I had with you before ever the world
existed (Jn. 17:5).

b) Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father, so how can you say, Show us the
Father? (Jn. 14: 9).

c) In all truth I tell you, before Abraham ever was, I am (Jn. 8: 57)this is an
expression of his being co-eternal with God the Father, as well as a reference to the
divine name I am who am (Ex. 3: 14).

d) The Father and I are one (Jn. 10: 30). For saying this, Jesus was stoned by the
Jews, who told him: We are stoning you, not for doing a good work, but for
blasphemy; though you are only a man, you claim to be God. Jesus, instead of trying
to pacify them by telling them that they had misunderstood what he had said, he
stressed even more his claim: at least believe in the work I do, then you will know
for certain that the Father is in me and I am in the Father (Jn. 10: 38).

e) St. John, records Jesus reply to the objection of the Jewish leaders to his cure of
the blind man on a Sabbath (My Father still goes on working, and I am at
work, too), and added the comment: But that only made the Jews even more intent
in killing him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he spoke of God as
his own Father and so made himself Gods equal (Jn. 5:17- 18).

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f) St Paul: He (Christ) is the image of the unseen God, the first-born of all creation,
for in him were created all things in heaven and on earth ... (Col. 1: 15-16). (...)
so that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may
be glorified in you and you in him, by the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ
(2 Th. 1: 12). (...) waiting in hope for the blessing which will come with the
appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Christ Jesus (Titus 2:13).

g) St. John: Who is the liar, if not one who claims that Jesus is not the Christ? This is
the Antichrist, who denies both the Father and the Son. Whoever denies the Son
cannot have the Father either; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father too (1
Jn 2: 22-23).
Anyone who acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God remains in him and
he in God (1 Jn. 4:15).

8. Do the human limitations that Jesus experienced (his being born of a woman, his
life of hard work, hunger and thirst, fear, the pains of his Passion, and His death)
disprove His divinity?

No. What they prove is that Jesus Christ is true man: the human nature that the second
Person of the Trinity took was a real one, not apparent. What makes Jesus Christ
unique is this: His Person is divine, but this one Person retains its divine nature even
after it took on a human nature. In order to express this mystery St John put it in clear
terms: The Word became flesh and lived among us, and we saw his glory, the glory
that he has from the Father as only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth (Jn. 1:
14).

How does INC interpret John 1:1?In the beginning was the Word: the Word was
with God, and the Word was God. For the INC, Word refers to Gods purpose
that Christ would be created, and this was fulfilled at his birth in Bethlehem. Using
Moffatts translation (and the Word was divine), the INC says
that the Word had a divine quality, but it is not God.

From the beginning of her history, the Church has always defended the mystery of
Jesus Christs being true God and true man; the Church never wavered from
asserting Jesus true and complete human nature (with a human body and a human
soul) as much as it has defended His being a divine Person (consubstantial with the
Father, as we say in the Creed).

9. Are the teachings of the Iglesia ni Cristo on the Trinity and Jesus Christ new?

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The INCs teachings on Jesus Christ are a mere repetition of the heresies of the
early centuries of Christianity, in particular, Monarchianism (from the Greek
monarchia = only principle/source) of the second century. Monarchianism
taughtthat God is only God the Father; thus, it denied the Trinity, the eternity of the
Logos (The Word, the second Person), and reduced the Holy Spirit to a mere
force of God the Father.

Consequently, Jesus Christ is not God, but a mere man who was accepted by God the
Father as his Son at his baptism in the Jordan or after his resurrection, on the merits of
his work (thus, the heresy was also known as Adoptionism). This is the same belief
held by the Jehovahs Witnesses and Unitarians.

10. What is the most basic attitude that we have to adopt when we want to know who
God is and His plan for us, as He has revealed Himself in the Holy Bible, Sacred
Tradition and in the Teaching Authority (Magisterium) of the Church?

Humility of heart, above all: At that time Jesus exclaimed, I bless you, Father, Lord
of heaven and of earth, for hiding these things from the learned and the clever and
revealing them to little children. Yes, Father, for that is what it pleased you to do.

Everything has been entrusted to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except
the Father, just as no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son
chooses to reveal him (Mt. 11: 25-27). Faith is a spiritual gift that God gives to those
who are aware of this fact: that due to its natural limitations, the human mind is
incapable of comprehending the nature of God.

We would not honour God if we were to simplify Revelation, by disregarding its
elements that do not fit into our human mode of knowingthe supernatural mysteries
(e.g., the Holy Trinity, Jesus Christ as true God and true man, His Death
and Resurrection).
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